Ion channels are membrane spanning proteins that allow controlled entry of various ions into cells from the extracellular fluid. All cells throughout the animal kingdom, as well as most bacterial, fungal, and plant cells, possess one or more types of ion channel. Similarly, cell surface-localized receptors control entry of various chemical species into cells from the extracellular fluid. As with ion channels, cell surface-localized receptors are found in nearly all members of the plant and animal kingdoms. Ion channels and cell surface-localized receptors are physiologically important, playing a central role in regulating intracellular levels of various ions and chemicals, many of which are important for cell viability and function.
A number of compounds useful in treating various diseases in animals, including humans, are thought to exert their beneficial effects by modulating the functioning of ion channels and/or cell surface-localized receptors.
An understanding of the pharmacology of compounds that interact with ion channels and/or cell-surface localized receptors, and the ability to rationally design compounds that will interact with ion channels and/or cell surface-localized receptors to have desired therapeutic effects, have been hampered by the lack of rapid, effective means to identify those compounds which interact with specific ion channels and/or specific cell surface-localized receptors.
The availability of rapid, effective means to identify compounds which interact with ion channels and/or cell surface-localized receptors would enable the rapid screening of a large number of compounds to identify those candidates suitable for further, in-depth studies of therapeutic applications.
The availability of rapid, effective means to determine if cells are producing functional ion channels and/or cell surface-localized receptors of a specific type would enable the rapid screening of cells for the presence of functional ion channels and/or surface-localized receptors that control passage across the cell membrane.